Authors Jen Monika McCurdy and Christine Corrigan Mendez met while pursuing their master’s degrees in counseling at UMSL. McCurdy and Mendez released “Leo Gets His Nighttime ZZZs,” the second book in the “Kids Can Club” series on Feb. 12. (Photo courtesy of Jen Monika McCurdy and Christine Corrigan Mendez)

In 2022, Jen Monika McCurdy and Christine Corrigan Mendez published their first children’s book, “Clementine Gets UNSTUCK!”

The book was the first in the “Kids Can Club” series, and it tells the story of Clementine, a neurodivergent third grader who has “zipping” and “zinging” thoughts that often leave her “stuck.” McCurdy and Mendez, both licensed counselors and graduates of the master’s counseling program at the University of Missouri–St. Louis, launched the series to empower and help kids facing a variety of emotional challenges.

They’re thrilled to continue the adventures of the “Kids Can Club” with the second book in the series, “Leo Gets His Nighttime ZZZs,” which was released on Feb. 12. The pair developed the idea for the series during the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. At the time, they could see kids were feeling isolated and stressed.

“We were just seeing the pressure was increasing on kids,” Mendez said. “The pandemic was happening, and needs weren’t getting met. There was much more anxiety, especially with social media. That made us think we really need to get this out here now.”

McCurdy and Mendez leveraged the skills they honed during their first careers in marketing to create the books and an online platform, KidsCanClub.com. The book series and the website feature five kind and creative kids – Clementine, Leo, Clara, Iris and Nico – who sometimes run into problems, but they work together to help each other solve them.

Through their experiences, young readers learn how to handle big and tough feelings when they show up in their lives. The website supports the books with a variety of free activities, such as coloring books and affirmation cards, as well as tip sheets and wellness exercises.

Over the past three years, “Clementine Gets UNSTUCK!” has connected with clinicians, educators and parents in the St. Louis region and beyond. McCurdy said the response has been incredibly positive and encouraging.

The interest in the book has led to a variety of opportunities including a special read aloud in Shaw Park in Clayton, Missouri, which aired on Nine PBS, and other in-school reading events. McCurdy and Mendez are also working on building the presence of the “Kids Can Club” on TikTok and YouTube.

The experience of publishing “Clementine Gets UNSTUCK!” as first-time authors also aided the duo in developing “Leo Gets His Nighttime ZZZs.”

“You definitely learn the process, and you also learn what are essential marketing tools – how important it is to get reviews of your book,” Mendez said. “You figure out your resources on the first book, and then it really does simplify the process as you move forward.”

The two stories were developed in concert with each other, so McCurdy and Mendez knew they wanted to focus on Leo in the second book. The story follows Leo, an active third grader who loves to ride his scooter, play soccer and have fun with friends. He’s all over the place, but when it’s time to go to bed, he just can’t seem to fall asleep.

“He’s doing all these fun things but really having trouble sleeping, which is an issue across our entire world right now,” McCurdy said. “He’s having trouble sleeping, so his homework is late. He’s having trouble connecting with his friends. There’s a picture, an adorable illustration, where he can’t even stand up in the soccer goal. He’s just wiped out.”

Eventually, Leo goes to the other members of the club for help.

“Within each book, the characters face a problem, and then they try a couple things on their own to fix it – I’ll just try harder to close my eyes or I’ll just say, ‘Hey, please let me sleep,’” Mendez said. “They take action and try, but it doesn’t quite work. Then they seek out a trusted adult who has an idea. Then, as a group, they work on the solution.”

The tool Leo uses to finally get some sleep is what counselors call progressive muscle relaxation. The technique involves tightening the muscles of different parts of the body for five seconds and then releasing. However, in the book, the characters call it “scrunch up five, unscrunch.”

McCurdy and Mendez were intentional about not using clinical language or diagnostic labels to describe the challenges facing the kids or the tools to help them address those challenges. Leo is dealing with insomnia, but it’s described as waking up during the night and staying up because he has worries and important things to remember. The simple, relatable language makes the books accessible to a wide audience.

Dana Regan’s fun, vibrant illustrations make the books approachable as well. Instead of the typical workbook format found in many children’s wellness books, Regan’s artwork depicts emotional challenges and tools to address them in a satisfying story arc that keeps readers engaged. Ultimately, McCurdy and Mendez want their books to be something kids can pick up and read for fun.

“I think for us, it’s also really important to be consistent,” McCurdy said. “The goal is to eventually have a bigger platform with this. We’re going to talk about more characters, and to keep [Regan] and that design is pretty important to us.”

The series will continue, featuring other members of the club and expanding the world, but the pair is still contemplating the direction of the next book. Mendez said it could potentially focus on multiple characters, each simultaneously facing different problems.

“At the very beginning of this project, we had a brainstorm, and we were thinking, ‘OK, who are our main characters,’” Mendez said. “We spent a lot of time defining who they were and what their background was. For each of the kids in the Kids Can Club, we know all about who they are, who their parents are, where they live, what kind of hobbies they have. There are so many more issues that kids face. So, we’re deciding where to go next.”

McCurdy and Mendez have enjoyed advancing their passion project from the first book to the website, which is quickly becoming a community-building hub and trusted resource for clinicians, educators and parents.

“It’s so fun to grow the project,” McCurdy said. “It’s fun to see people go, ‘Oh, I read ‘Clementine,’ now there’s another one. It’s not just a book, a story. I think a lot of people who write, especially children’s books, have that idea. This is so much more. It’s a program. It’s a platform. It’s something that could launch into something else. That, to me, is exciting watching it come to life.

“We have that marketing and design background, too. We both are second-career therapists, so that part is really fun, that we’re bringing both of those worlds together. Creativity has been such a passion for both of us, and watching that take form is really, really fun.”

“Leo Gets His Nighttime ZZZs” can be purchased through Amazon, BookBaby Bookshop, Left Bank Books, Target and more.